(393) Introducing Katherine

Post #393[Private journal entry written on Friday, March 12, 2010]

I haven’t yet heard anything from Mark since I emailed him a week+ ago. So, I sent another email yesterday asking if he had gotten my earlier email. Surely he isn’t just blowing me off . . . ?? Surely there is some other explanation – I really want to believe that.

Anyway, today I had an interview with the second prospective therapist, Katherine.

As soon as I walked into her office and shook her hand, I liked her. She is rather quiet – not shy, just not overly talkative. She has very solid energy . . . like she has seen it all, done it all . . . nothing would shake her up. I imagine that, after 20 years of being a clinical therapist, she probably has seen and heard it all!

I noticed she exudes stability, confidence and calm. And, she is leads with her heart . . . she has a warm, motherly energy.

'Sage' creative energy

Like Janet (and Mark and me), she has a “sage” energy (see illustration) . . .

She set aside an hour of her time (no charge) to meet with me, so I had plenty of time to ask questions of her.

I learned she primarily uses the EMDR approach for almost all of her clients . . . because most of her clients present with a history of trauma. So, if I am to work with her, I would have to know EMDR is an effective choice for me. I have some concerns about that, but I am willing to consider the possibility.

When I asked her about the use of touch in therapy, she stated touch has a clear role in EMDR therapy; therefore, yes, touch would be part of my therapy. However, she sometimes has her clients touch themselves instead of her doing the touching.

She very much invites the client to design his or her own healing path . . . she believes she only plays a supplemental role. She believes the client must decide what options are best.

All during the interview, as I asked questions and before she would answer, she would often ask for clarification on why I was asking a particular question, to get context . . . she said it helped her better answer my questions. I really like that she did that – as opposed to just taking off on some tangent that may or may not really answer my question.

The only concern she had about my therapeutic experience being described on my blog was that, if I described EMDR techniques, the readers of my blog may try it on their own. She said that could be dangerous. That seems like a legitimate concern. I told her I could keep those details relatively vague, and I could have her review that material before publication to make sure that concern was addressed. She felt that would be a workable solution.

When we talked about her fee, she said her regular rate is $75, but she is willing to drop it to $60 for people with incomes less than $25K. (I would quality for the reduced fee.) She is okay with me coming every three weeks as long as I can sometimes come every two weeks during the intense EMDR treatments – I could balance that out by coming every four weeks during the less intense times.

So . . . I really, really like her. But, I’m iffy on her approach. I am concerned her process is so EMDR-centric. We shall see what the remaining three interviews bring . . .

Responses

I’d be uncomfortable with the commitment to a single modality, as well. One of the things I really liked about my own therapist was that she was trained in at least five different approaches/methodologies for processing trauma. EMDR was one of them, but she didn’t think I was a good candidate for it, and I agreed.

I’ve tried EMDR twice, admittedly not for a lot of sessions. It basically re-traumatized me…the hope was that bringing this trauma stuff to the fore would then allow it to dissipate, but that didn’t happen for me. It was just a horrible experience with no benefit I could see.

My current T says that EMDR is not suited for all trauma, as David says. I have heard a lot of positive about the technique, and it seems to help some people a lot. I really wonder though if it’s suited for multiple instances of childhood abuse, only partially recalled, which is my situation.

Not sure about your background of course Marie. Just something to be aware of – EMDR may not be right, as you say.

I think you are doing an excellent job of interviewing potential T’s. Or did do so, I mean.

My research supports what you have said . . . EMDR can be great and it can be harmful (or at least not beneficial). I would hope that a therapist trained in EMDR would be alert enough to back off if it was not being effective!

About the post dates

For each post, there is a significant lag in time between the date the journal entry was written (shown in the heading of the post) and the date the post was published to the blog.

The time lag allows me the opportunity to alter names and other identifying data for privacy purposes, check for grammar and spelling errors, break longer passages into smaller parts, and add the tags, categories, photos, quotes and url links.

It also provides a buffer against the natural “ebb and flow” in the volume of therapeutic writing I produce. After all, I do have a life outside of therapy, LOL.

In fact, there will likely be times when I don't publish anything for weeks . . . that would be because I am preoccupied with events currently occurring in my life. Of course, participating fully in my current life takes precedence over documenting my history.

However, it is my intention to continue documenting my journey even though I may run significantly behind in publishing those journal entries to my blog. I'll publish entries when I can!

On a side note, I write a lot about other people. Please know that I almost always change names, and I often change other characteristics such as gender and age in order to protect the privacy of those people.

Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my blog!

- Marie---------

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